John Wheeler: Our climate is delivering more warm, humid nights than it used to - Jamestown Sun
John Wheeler: Our climate is delivering more warm, humid nights than it used to - InForum | Fargo, Moorhead and West Fargo news, weather and sports
John Wheeler: Our climate is delivering more warm, humid nights than it used to
Humidity is closely related climatologically to precipitation, and the average precipitation in our region suddenly jumped about twenty percent in the early 1990s.
FARGO — Our region has not yet been treated to the first warm and humid air of the year. An easy way to quantify humid air from the temperature record is by marking the calendar days, recorded midnight to midnight, in which the lowest temperature is 65 degrees or higher. Such a day is almost invariably humid because it is humidity that keeps the air from cooling at night.
Humidity is closely related climatologically to precipitation, and the average precipitation in our region suddenly jumped about 20% in the early 1990s. Coincidentally, the average number of 65-degree nights before 1990 is 12 for Fargo and nine for Grand Forks. Since 1990, the average is 18 for Fargo and 12 for Grand Forks. The average first date in spring moved from May 14 to May 9 in Fargo and from May 17 to May 11 in Grand Forks. The average last date slid from Sept. 9 to the 23rd in Fargo and from Sept. 21 to Oct. 1 in Grand Forks.
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